Selected Works of D.T. Suzuki, Volume II by Suzuki Daisetsu Teitaro

Author:Suzuki, Daisetsu Teitaro
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780520268937
Publisher: University of California Press

Amida’s Original Prayer (or Vow) does not speak of good and evil, does not consider the abundance or lack of good deeds, does not choose between a pure and an impure body. Since it takes no account of time, place, or other relationships, it isn’t concerned with how one dies. A sinner is a sinner, yet if he calls the Name, he attains the Pure Land—this is the wonder of the Original Prayer. A person born to a samurai family, even though he engages in combat and falls in battle, if he says the Nembutsu, he shares in the Original Prayer. He must never have the least doubt that he will be met by the coming of the bodhisattvas. (Chokushū goden, vol. 26, also known as Hōnen Shōnin gyōjō and Chokushū Hōnen Shōnin den)

With the words “A sinner is a sinner, yet if he calls the Name, he attains the Pure Land; this is the wonder of the Original Prayer,” Hōnen strikes home to the true and wonderful meaning possessed by the tariki sects, but his mention of raigō (the descent of the bodhisattvas) seems somehow a remnant of Heian times. The real office that Hōnen performed was to erect a bridge between Heian and Kamakura times, and as such he is one of the brightest luminaries in Japanese spiritual history.

It was Shinran who exemplified almost perfectly the life of the earth and the true spirit of Kamakura times. Under Hōnen, Shinran achieved self-realization of the great meaning of tariki (other-power), but it was his period of exile in the northern provinces and later his wanderings around the Kantō region that brought this great awakening into contact with the earth. Had he remained in Kyoto, Shinran would never, no matter what he did, have been able to extricate himself from the ideals and conceptions of Heian culture.

What is more, if Hōnen had spent much more of his life in the countryside—the areas away from Kyoto—in all probability his spirituality would have achieved an even greater brilliance. Owing to his advanced age, this was not possible. But Shinran was young and was able to assume his teacher’s mantle. The two men’s personalities cannot be separated; one follows right after the other, like two beads on a rosary string.

Had Shinran not spent many years of exile and wandering in remote rural areas, he would have been unable to penetrate to the realization of pure tariki. His exile provided him with the chance to propagate Buddhism among the people in remote areas of the country. This was a blessing for them, yet Shinran himself would have been the first to admit that it was a blessing for himself as well. Living among such people gave his religious experience an added profundity. Not being a specialist in Shin history, I do not know the reasons why Shinran did not return directly to Kyoto after he was released from exile. But viewing him in terms of his inner, spiritual life, there is no doubt in

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.